


Running

by Jellybean96



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Fugitive, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, On the Run, Romance, Skye is an 0-8-4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3468845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybean96/pseuds/Jellybean96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Running. For two years, that's all I've done. I don't want to, but I have to. I can't let them find me, I can't risk the lives of people I care about. So I have to run.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Running barefoot across the cold, damp, warehouse floor, I stop for a moment to catch my breath. Clutching the small gun in my hand even tighter, I lean my shoulder against the wall next to me to try and slow down my rapidly beating heart. I take a deep breath and then slowly peek around the corner, trying my hardest to see down the dark hallway. I'm looking for any sign of someone at the other end. A small splash of a water puddle, a glint of light reflecting off of a gun, breathing, anything.

After a few seconds of looking, and finding no sign of life nearby, I carefully and quietly make my way around the corner. I stop every once in a while as I walk, glancing back behind me to make sure that I'm not being followed by anyone who could still be lurking about.

Turning back, I continue making my way through the warehouse hallway. Taking a large step forward, I feel a sharp pain shoot quickly up the entire length of my leg. Ignoring it for a mere moment, I take another step forward and the pain shoots up my leg again, stronger this time. Moving over to the side of the hallway, I lean my back against the wall and slide down it, setting my gun down beside me, and pulling my bare foot close to my body.

Looking closely, and squinting in what little light there is, I carefully examine my foot. Sticking out of the bottom of my arch, is the head of a small, rusty old nail. Biting my lip to hold back a groan of pain, I grab the nail tightly by its flat head and pull it out of my skin. I toss the nail off to the side and lean my head back against the wall, trying to keep from making any noise because of all of the pain coursing through my foot.

Reaching behind me into my back pocket, I pull out my pocket knife, flipping it open. I hold out the bottom of my shirt and carefully cut off a piece of it, tying it around my foot to try and slow down the bleeding as much as possible. I put the knife back in my pocket and slowly stand up, making sure not to put too much pressure on my now injured foot. Grabbing my gun again, and holding it tightly, I continue to make my way down the hallway, much slower than before.

Suddenly hearing a noise behind me, I quickly whip my head around, only to find nothing behind me. My mind is playing tricks on me. It hasn't been the first time, but it also hasn't happened in quite a while. These things have been happening to me ever since that day. It was a horrible time, and I'll never forget what it really did to me. Who it made me really become.

* * *

" _You wanna see what I can do?!" I close my eyes and take a deep breath, concentrating as hard as I can. I really hope that this works._ Undo the restraints _. I think to myself, my eyes still closed._

_After a moment, I hear the man scream in pain, but after a second, he stops. I open my eyes again and then watch as he stands up and walks towards the bed. He slowly undoes the restrains on my hands, and then my feet. I carefully slide off of the still tilted bed and stand in front of him, one hand resting on the bed to steady myself. All that electricity really took its toll on me. I spend a moment to remove any of the wires that didn't fall off when I stood up. That's when I really take notice of the little bruises lingering on my body, from where each little pad had been._

_When I look back at the man in front of me, just standing there with no expression on his face, I realize what I have done to him. I back slowly away from him, breathing heavily._ Now, you aren't going to follow me. And once I'm gone, you'll destroy everything you have on me and forget about me. Understand? _I say in my head._

_He nods his head._

" _Good," I say, this time out loud. I back up towards the door and turn the handle, pushing the door open and bolting from the room, trying to locate the exit of the building._

* * *

Sighing as I turn back around, I suddenly come face to face with someone I never thought I'd see again. We stare at each other for a long minute, having a silent conversation with our eyes. It's something that we've been able to do for as long as I can remember, but I didn't think that we'd still be able to do it after being apart for so long. It feels good to see a familiar face after spending so much time on my own. After a quick, silent moment, we both smile softly at each other and grab hands, barreling towards the end of the hallway where we can see some light. Ignoring the searing pain shooting up my leg from my foot, I keep on running, not once stopping.

This is my life now. This has been my life for almost two years now. Just running and hiding. Constantly running and hiding from the people who only want me for what I am capable of; the people who want to tear me apart and see how I work. I don't want to live my life like this anymore. But I have to. Until there isn't anyone left who wants to treat me like a lab rat, I can't stop running. I  _won't_  stop running.


	2. Chapter 1

*2 years, and 3 months earlier*

Laughter fills the Bus as the six team members sit around, drinking cider, and celebrating. Celebrating Skye's success at becoming an official Agent of SHIELD. She is definitely more than happy to now be considered an Agent; not just a civilian working with the team, but an actual Agent working as a _part_ of the team. When she had received her badge, Simmons had hugged her tighter than she ultimately expected, while Fitz had hugged her a bit awkwardly. Coulson had smiled at her with what looked like tears in his eyes and told her how proud of her he was, and May had given her a small smile and a pat on the back. And then there was Ward. He had just stood back, smiled, and said that he was proud of her, and that even without him, she would have done it.

And now they are all sitting around on the couches in the lounge area, talking and laughing. They aren't really talking about any one thing in particular, but jumping around an array of different topics whenever they pop up.

Currently, everyone is telling Skye many stories from their own time at the Academy. Skye listens to them attentively, laughing when appropriate at the stories of their freshman pranks. She wishes that she could have attended the Academy as well, instead of just taking a handful of tests. That way she could have had the full experience. But in the long run, she doesn't really care, because she's an Agent now. An Agent of SHIELD.

* * *

*Skye's POV*

"Oh my gosh! That's hilarious!" I laugh, after Ward finishes telling all of us about when he got pranked as a freshman. "I can't believe that you actually fell for that!"

"Hey," Ward says, trying to defend himself, "It's not that funny."

"Actually," Coulson smiles, "It is, Ward."

"Whatever. Let's just talk about something else now."

"Aww!" I coo, "Robo-Cop is embarrassed." The rest of the team, except for Ward, laugh.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_ A loud siren goes off from somewhere within the Bus, catching everyone's attention, "What does that noise mean?" I ask.

"Incoming video call," Coulson answers, "I'll go and see who it is." Standing up from the couch, placing his champagne glass on the table, he makes his way towards the Command Center.

"Who do you think it is?" Simmons asks when Coulson is out of the room.

"It could be Director Fury with another mission for us." Fitz answers.

"Ooh, my first mission as an Agent!" I squeal.

"Relax Rookie—"

"Who you callin Rookie?" I interrupt Ward before he can finish his sentence.

He rolls his eyes, "You may be an official Agent now, but you'll always be my Rookie." He replies with a smile. He clears his throat and then adds, "I mean uh, you're the newest Agent. Clearly qualifies you as being the Rookie in this situation. And plus, you're never going to stop calling me Robot, so I'm never going to stop calling you Rookie."

Before anyone can say anything else, Coulson walks back into the room, "We've got a mission." He says, and then goes back to the Command Center, waiting for the rest of us to follow.

* * *

"This is gonna be awesome!" I exclaim as I stand in the cargo bay with Ward, getting ready for the mission.

"You need to relax," Ward replies calmly, checking out one of the ICERS before handing it over to me. "You need to stay alert out there. And even though you've been on missions before, this is your first one as a field agent. I need for you to be careful. Okay?"

"I think  _you_  to need to relax," I tell my, very over-protective, S.O., "I'll be fine. I've got you out there, watching my back," I give him a soft smile. "We're actually partners now, we're gonna have each other's backs all the time."

He smiles back at me, "You're right. Now come on, run through it with me."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Ward says, crossing his arms.

I huff, "Fine. When out in the field, stay alert, stay…"

" _Drop zone in 10,"_ May's voice comes over the speaker system, interrupting me.

"Oh well!" I say with a big grin, "Gotta go check something with Simmons!"

"You're lucky this time Skye," I hear Ward call after me as I make my way into the lab to find Simmons.

* * *

" _We're approaching the drop zone now,"_  May's voice says over the speaker.

"You ready?" Ward asks me as he straps on his parachute.

"Yep," I reply, strapping on my own parachute.

"Here," he says, "let me double check your chute."

He steps closer to me, reaching for my chute.

"I think it's good," I tell him.

"Skye. I'm your partner. I just want to make sure that you'll be safe when we jump."

I sigh, "Fine. Go ahead."

"Thank you," he says, and then steps forward once more to check the straps on my chute. "Alright," he says, tugging on the last strap, "you're good to go."

"Awesome," I say, looking up at him. Looking up at his eyes, I see something in them that I don't think I've ever seen before. I can feel his hands lingering on the straps, as there is a slight weight on my parachute. We just look into each other's eyes and I can feel my heart starting to beat a little faster.

"Time to drop." A voice says, causing Ward and I to jump apart, startled.

Ward clears his throat and looks at me, "You ready?"

I nod my head, "Ready when you are."

"May," he says into his comm, "Lower the ramp please."

" _Lowering the ramp,"_  May replies through the plane's speaker. A second later, the cargo ramp lowers, and I can feel the wind blowing in my face.

"On the count of three," Ward says, and moves forward. I move forward as well, standing right next to him. "One, two, three." Once he says three, I take a deep breath and then jump out of the plane. I look to my side, and see Ward falling right next to me. He turns his head to look at me and smiles, and then turns his attention back in front of him. I do the same and then once we're close enough, we both pull our chutes, letting the wind slowly carry us down. Once our feet touch the ground, we detach our chutes, and then each pull out a gun. Ward turns his head to look at me once more.

"Let's do this," I say, smiling wide at him.

* * *

" _Okay,"_ Fitz says through the comms, from within the confines of the Bus,  _"Skye, Ward, you're almost there. Just a few more feet."_

"Thanks Fitz," I reply. Ward and I are making our way down a very long corridor, searching for the main control room of the compound.

" _The room should be on your left,"_ Fitz says again.

"We see it," Ward says. He turns to me, "you ready?"

I nod my head, "Yep."

"Okay. You take that side. I'll take this one."

I nod again, stepping to one side of the door frame, my gun up and ready. Ward does the same thing on the other side of the frame.

With a nod of his head to me, Ward steps forward and kicks the door in. He walks into the room, gun first, and checks to make sure no one else is there.

"Clear," he says after a quick moment.

I walk into the room, gun still up, and looks towards Ward. "Okay, I'm gonna get the files now," I tell him, "Shouldn't take me too long if they have a weak system. Cover me?"

"You got it," he says, stepping back towards the door to stand guard in case anyone comes our direction.

I make my way over to the main computer system in the center of the room, pulling out one of the chairs and sit down, starting up the computer in front of me. When it finishes booting up, I insert the drive into the USB port and begin breaking into the server.

"Hey," Ward whispers, "how long are you gonna be?"

"A few more minutes. They have a better encryption than I thought they would."

"You can do it though, right?"

I scoff, "Of course I can do it." I continue typing rapidly on the keys, "Alright, I'm in. Now time to find the file." I press more keys, file by file flying across the screen until I finally locate the one I need. I press a few more keys and wait as the file downloads onto the drive. When it finishes, I remove the drive and stand up, shoving it into my pocket. I shut down the computer, after erasing any, and every, trace of me being in the system. "Okay," I say in Ward's general direction, "we can go now. I've got the information."

When I turn around fully and start to walk towards Ward, I stop. Three men are in the room, one standing directly behind Ward, holding both of his arms tightly behind his back. Another man has his arm wrapped around Ward's neck, keeping him in a choke hold. The last man has a gun pointed at Ward's temple. I look at the scene before me, trying to figure out what to do. Before I can react, the man with the gun speaks up, a slight accent to his voice.

"The files you took. Where are they?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lie effortlessly.

The man tightens his hold on Ward's neck, causing him to gasp a bit, and struggle.

"Tell us where they are."

I slowly reach into my pocket and clutch the drive in my hand before pulling it out and holding it up for them to see, "You mean this?"

"Yes. Now toss it to me."

"Not until you let him go." I gesture with my head towards Ward.

"The drive first," the man sneers, "Then you can have your little boyfriend back."

"No. Let him go, and then you get the drive."

"Don't give it to them Skye," Ward manages to say, causing the man to squeeze Ward's neck even tighter, and the other man to twist his arm back. Ward's face scrunches up in pain.

"Grant!" I exclaim when I see him writhing, a pained look on his face. "Okay!" I shout, "I'll give you the drive. But only if you promise to release him as soon as you get it."

"Yes yes," the man with the gun says, lowering the weapon slightly. He holds his hand out, "Toss it to me." I clutch the drive in my hand for a moment and then toss it to the man. He catches it flawlessly.

"Now let him go," I say.

"Uh, no."

"But you promised," I cry.

"I never promised you anything," he sneers, and then reaches behind him with his leg, and kicks Ward in the knee as hard as he can. I can barely hear the crack of his knee being broken over the cries of Ward as he buckles slightly.

I gasp and go to move forward and save him, but it's as if all of my training has just flown out of my head, and I can't remember a single thing that I was taught. I watch as the two men pull Ward's arm tighter behind his back and increase the hold on his neck, holding him up, not letting him fall to the floor.

"Please," I cry again, tears threatening to build up in my eyes, "please just let him go. I gave you the flash drive. Now let him go."

"Not a chance," he pulls a device out of his pocket and plugs the drive into it.

I watch nervously, because this wasn't a part of the plan. The other guys weren't supposed to get the information. I watch as the guy in front of me stares at the screen, and then gets angry.

"What did you do?!" he shouts at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"These files. They're corrupted. What did you do to them?"

"I swear I didn't do anything to them. All I did was download them onto the drive. I swear."

"Not according to this device."

"Well I don't know how it corrupted, because I didn't do it."

"These files are useless now. And since you didn't do as we asked, by handing over the files, you don't get him." The man holds the gun up to Ward's head, and before I can see a thing, I shut my eyes tight, and hold my head in my hands, just as I feel a small bit of pain run through my mind.

I cringe when I hear screaming and then a gunshot, a crack, and a squish. Looking up slowly, for fear of what I'll see, my eyes go wide when I take in the sight in front of me. Grant is by the door, leaning up against it while holding his left arm in pain, while the three guys who had been holding him are now lying on the floor, one guy with a gun wound to the side of his head, one lying on the floor with what looks like a broken neck, and the last one with a knife sticking out of his chest.

"Grant?" I ask, not believing what I'm seeing.

"I'm good," he says, glancing up at me.

" _Skye! Ward!"_ I hear Coulson's voice through the comm,  _"What happened? Are you both okay?"_

"We're good," I say into the comm. "We're good." I look at Grant and walk closer to him. "What happened?" I ask him.

"One moment I was being held with a gun pointed at my head, and the next thing I knew, all three guys were screaming. Then the guy with the gun shot himself in the head, the one who had me in a choke hold snapped his own neck, and the one who had my arms stabbed himself in the heart."

"Whoa." I say in shock. I lean down and pick up the drive, not wanting to leave it behind, slipping it into my pocket. "We should really get back to the Bus."

"Yeah," he agrees, "we should."

He turns and starts walking towards the door, then collapses in pain.

"Ward!" I exclaim, rushing to his side, "Let me help you," I say, "At least until we get you looked at. Have to make sure none of your wiring got fried."

"You really can't resist from making the robot jokes, can you?"

"Nope," I say with a small smile.

"We should really get going," he replies, starting to pull himself up.

"Let me clear the area first," I tell him, "then we can hopefully make a clean getaway."

"Be careful," he tells me, leaning up against the wall next to him.

"I will," I respond, pulling my gun out. Approaching the open door, I step out into the hallway, gun first, checking both ends of the hallway quickly. "Clear," I call back to Ward and then step back inside the room. I walk over to him and duck down, allowing him to drape his right arm across my shoulders. I reach up with my hand and hold onto his wrist, and then stand up straight, trying my best to support all of his body weight.

"Are you good?" I ask him.

"Yeah," he tells me, "Now let's go."

"Alright, come on." I look out in front of me, walking slowly back down the hallway we used when we first arrived at the compound. "We should be there soon," I inform him after a few minutes.

A moment later, we come to a set of doors that I rigged earlier so they wouldn't lock. "We're almost to the extraction point," I say to him, shoving the door open with my foot. "Coulson," I say into my comm as we walk out the door and into the setting sun, "We're at the extraction point." I allow Ward to let go of me and watch for a moment as he hobbles off.

" _Are you both okay?"_

"Mostly." I reply.

" _Be there in two,"_ he tells me,  _"sit tight."_

"Ward," I call out, "Coulson said that they'll be here in two minutes and to sit tight."

"What do you think I'm doing?" he replies from his spot atop a nearby rock, clutching his left arm close to his body.

"Right, sorry," I say. I take a moment to myself and catch my breath, something I really need to do after helping Ward out of the building. He is really heavy.

A minute later, a noise from above catches both of our attention and we look up to see the Bus hovering over our heads. "They're here," I say. "Let's go."

I wait as the Bus lands and the ramp is lowered. I walk over to Ward and allow him to lean onto me once again for support, as I help him to the Bus. As we get closer, I can see Simmons standing on the ramp waiting for us.

"What happened?" she asks when she sees the way Ward is leaning on me.

"I'll tell you when we're inside."

Simmons hurries ahead of us and clears off the table in the center of the lab for Ward to sit on, allowing for her to do an examination of his injuries.

"We're good to go, May," I say into the comm, once we get far enough up the ramp.

" _Copy that,"_ May says.  _"Hold tight everyone,"_ her voice comes over the speaker system.

A moment later, we feel the plane taking off once again.

"Okay," Simmons says, when she feels us at a reasonable height. "What happened?" her question is directed at Ward, noticing the way he is holding his arm.

"It all went too fast, I'm not exactly sure." Ward replies.

"That's alright. Just uh, just relax, and let me do the examination. Okay?" Ward nods his head and Simmons begins her examination.

A few minutes later, the lab doors slide open and Coulson walks in, Fitz right on his tail. May follows closely behind them, having put the plane on autopilot. "Skye! Ward! What happened?" Coulson asks us.

"That seems to be the only question being asked," Ward answers from where he sits on the table in the middle of the lab, as Simmons finishes checking his injuries. "One minute the men were holding me, the next they were dead on the floor. I honestly have no explanation for what happened."

"However," Simmons pipes in, "if you don't mind me interrupting, I do have an explanation of Agent Ward's injuries."

"And?" Ward questions.

"You have a slight fracture in your left arm, some slight bruising along your neck, and a broken knee. In just a few minutes I can have your knee patched up as best as I can, and your arm in a sling. But we'll have to get you to an actual medical facility to get a more permanent solution for your knee."

Coulson turns to May, "May, can you…"

"Set a course for the closest SHIELD medical facility. Got it." She says and then holds up her tablet, searching for the nearest medical facility.

"Skye." Coulson speaks up again, "Can you explain what happened while you two were down there? What happened to the men who injured Ward?"

I look at my superior, "I uh, well, the three men who were holding Ward, killed themselves. But I don't exactly know why."

"Start from the top," he tells me.

"Okay. Well, uh, we went in, and that was pretty easy. There was no one there the whole way through. When we got to the right room, I got into the system and downloaded the correct file onto the drive while Ward stood guard at the door. When I finished, I turned around and there were three other guys in the room. One had both of Ward's arms pinned behind his back, one had him in a choke hold, and the other guy had a gun to his head. He made me give him the drive in order to keep Ward safe. I know that I probably shouldn't have done it, but I did. But here's the weird part, when he scanned it in this device that he had, he said that the files were all messed up or something. I didn't do anything to the files, but now that I think about it, I probably would have if I had known that someone else was going to be there."

"Alright," Coulson says, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the table behind him, deep thought etched onto his face, "and then what happened?"

"Um, well, the man refused to hand Ward over and kicked his knee in, and then he held the gun back up to Ward's head," I swallow thickly, "and then I froze. I couldn't, I couldn't do anything. It's like everything that I've ever learned in my training just flew out of my head, and I couldn't move a muscle in my body. The only thing I could do was close my eyes and hold my head because it hurt so badly. That's when I heard the screaming. And then the gunshot, the snapping of bone, and the slicing of a blade," I cringe slightly at the memory, "When I looked up, Ward was still standing, barely, but the three men were all on the floor dead. One with a gunshot wound to his head, one with a broken neck, and the other one with a knife sticking out of his chest."

"So they just killed themselves?" Simmons wonders.

"I guess so. I mean, yeah I wished that they would hurt themselves instead of Ward, but I was just really upset. And the fact they  _killed_  themselves, instead of Ward was just—"

"Skye," Coulson interrupts me.

"Yeah?"

"Let me get this straight. You wished that the men would hurt themselves, and they did. Without you actually telling them to or touching them at all."

"Yeah," Skye says slowly, "I did. Do you think that…" I trail off.

Coulson nods his head, "It's possible."

"Oh gosh," I gasp, tears coming to my eyes, "I can't believe I did that. I killed those men."

"What does she mean?" Fitz asks, "What did Skye do? I thought that those men killed themselves."

"They did," Coulson says, not taking his eyes off of me, "but Skye helped."

"How did she do that?" Simmons asks, from her spot standing over Ward.

"It's about time we tell them, A.C. It's been long enough. And the only way we can figure this out, how I actually did that, is if everyone else knows."

"What don't we know?" Fitz asks, "what's going on?"

I look at Coulson for a moment longer and then look to the rest of the team. I take a deep breath and then open my mouth, "I'm an 0-8-4."


	3. Chapter 2

"You're a what?" Fitz asks, after a moment of silence.

"An 0-8-4," I repeat.

"How long have you known?" Simmons asks.

"Since we went to Sic-Tech. Afterwards, Coulson told me about my past, and that I'm an 0-8-4."

"Do you know why you're classified as an 0-8-4?" Ward asks.

"Not exactly," I respond, "but I think it might have something to do with what happened today at the compound."

"We won't know much until we look more into this," Coulson says, "but from what Skye has told us about what happened, I'm guessing that it might be some type of cerebral power."

"But how was I able to do that? It's crazy!"

"I don't know, and we won't know much until we try and figure out exactly how your powers work. What triggers them?"

"No." I say without pause, "I don't want to be experimented on. I'm a human being, not a freak."

"We know that, Skye," Coulson reminds me, "just let Simmons run some tests. Maybe we can try and figure out how this power of yours works."

"Okay, but I can't promise you guys any results. I'm just as in the dark on this as you are."

"Hang on!" Ward speaks up, "I think I remember something."

"What?" Coulson asks.

"Uh, it happened really fast so I don't think I realized what was happening at the time. But there was this sort of blue light that Skye emitted, like it shot out from her and hit the three guys holding me back. Right after the light hit them, they all turned their weapons on themselves."

"Whoa," I breathe out, "seriously?"

Ward nods his head, "I don't know how or why it happened. But it did."

"I don't know how or why it happened either. And like I said, I can't make any promises about results."

"That's okay Skye," Coulson tells me, "we'll do this on your call. Whenever you are up to it, we'll try and figure things out. Now, I'm going to go and call Director Fury. Let him know what has happened. But other than him and the six of us, no one else will know about Skye being an 0-8-4 and her powers. Whatever those might actually be."

"Thank you," I smile at him.

"Of course," he says, and then he exits the lab, going towards his office.

* * *

*No one's POV*

When he gets into his office, Coulson picks up his phone and dials Director Fury's number, sitting down and waiting as it rings.

 _"Hello?"_ a voice says on the other end after a few moments.

"Director Fury," Coulson begins.

 _"Coulson,"_ Fury acknowledges, _"to what pleasure do I owe this phone call?"_

"I have some very important information to speak with you about."

_"What is this pertaining to?"_

"Skye."

_"Skye? That computer hacker on your team?"_

"Yes sir. I have reason to believe that Skye is the 0-8-4 that was picked up all those years ago in the Hunan province in China. The baby. And our suspicions are pretty much confirmed after what happened today during the mission you assigned us."

 _"What happened?"_ Fury prods.

"Well," Coulson says, and then begins spewing out everything that Skye had told him about the mission.

_"This is some extremely crucial information, Coulson."_

"I know Sir. That's why I called you. I was hoping though, that this information could go no further than you and I and my team. I'd hate for something to happen because the wrong person found out about Skye."

 _"You have my word, Coulson,"_ Fury assures him, _"nothing that has been said on this line will be told to anyone else. Not even Hill will know about any of this."_

"Thank you, Sir."

_"You're welcome. Now, I must go. I have some other matters to attend to."_

"Of course, goodbye Sir," he hangs up his phone and sits back in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh.

* * *

*The lab, 4 hours later, Skye's POV*

"Do I really have to try again?" I complain, fidgeting in my seat on a stool in the middle of the lab.

"Just once more," Simmons tells me, "I promise."

I sigh, "Fine." I stare at Fitz standing in front of me. I'm trying to get him to do something, anything, like I did with those men back at the compound. Nothing happens. No blue light shoots out. I sigh once more in frustration, "Nothing is happening," I say, "I can't do it. I don't know how I did it the first time, but I can't do it again."

"That's okay, Skye," Simmons says, "You're free to go now."

"Thank you," I breathe a sigh of relief and then hop off of the stool, steadying myself for a moment before I make my way out of the lab.

I head to my bunk, looking forward to some time to myself so that I can sleep, when I see Ward sitting in the lounge area, his leg propped up on the coffee table. His leg was put into a legit cast when we took him to the hospital, and then as soon as we got back, he went to the lounge to rest, and I went to the lab to start the tests. The doctor said that his cast will have to stay on for about a week, before he can get it removed. But after that, he'll have to take it easy on his knee.

"Hey," I say to him as I walk over and stand directly in front of him.

He looks up at me, "Hey Skye. How did it go down in the lab?"

I shrug, "I tried to make Fitz do something, anything, but I couldn't. I don't know how I did it the first time when we were at the compound, but I can't seem to get myself to do it again."

"You'll get the hang of it," he tells me, "with enough practice, you'll figure it out."

"I guess so," I say, sitting down next to him, "it's just weird. Knowing that I have these abilities, but not knowing how to use them. It's weird. I don't even know where I come from. Or who my parents are."

"It's okay, Skye," he tells me, placing one of his hands on top of mine, "You don't really need to know where you come from, do you? Because you have a family right here. Everyone on this plane is your family, and we all care about you a lot. Nothing else should matter, only that we'll be here for you every step of the way while you're figuring all of this out."

I look at him, with slight tears in my eyes, "Wow." Is all I can manage to get out. We just sit where we are and look at each other, neither of us saying a word.

"Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Snapping out of our odd trance, we both turn our heads to see Simmons standing in the doorway to the lounge area, looking at us.

"No," I say turning more fully towards her, "You're fine. What's up?"

"Oh, well, I just came to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"It's about your abilities," she says to me.

My eyes widen, "And? What about them?"

"Well, I was just thinking, that maybe, maybe your powers are triggered by some type of very strong emotion. It makes a bit of sense, doesn't it? When you were at the compound, Ward was about to be killed, and you wished that the men would hurt themselves, resulting in them killing themselves, instead of Ward."

"You're right," I say back, thinking about it, "I was pretty scared that Ward was going to be killed. And all I wanted was for him to be let go. But I guess my subconscious must have wanted those men to die instead."

"It makes perfect sense when you think about," Simmons says again, "You have a very strong, emotional, attachment to Ward. You have for some time, I think, so it made it easier for you to control those men, because they were harming someone you care deeply for."

"And maybe because Fitz wasn't in any kind of danger, you couldn't make anything happen," Ward speaks up, "Simmons said that you were able to save me because I was in danger. When you were down in the lab with Fitz, he wasn't in danger."

"But Ward, didn't you say that at the compound, a light emitted from me?" He nods. "Was it like, a big burst that hit everyone in front of me?" He nods his head again. "Then why didn't it make _you_  kill yourself?"

"I don't know," he replies.

Jemma speaks up, "Maybe it's because you care so deeply for Ward that you didn't make him kill himself either. You care too much about him to make him do something like that to himself. And at the compound, when that light emitted from you, hitting all of those men. Your subconscious must have recognized him and how much he means to you, so it didn't hurt him."

"Wow." I say, "That actually made more sense than I thought it would."

* * *

*2 ½ months later*

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"What is that?" I ask from my spot on the couch. I've been lying here for the past hour and a half, surfing the Internet on my laptop.

"Someone is trying to dock," May speaks up as she makes her way into the lounge.

"People can dock the Bus without you authorizing it?" I question.

"Not usually," May replies, "unless someone from SHIELD overrides the system."

"Do you know who it is?"

"No we don't," Coulson says, as he, too, enters the lounge, Ward right behind him. "We weren't scheduled to have anyone board today."

"Sir," Fitz says, as he and Simmons ascend the staircase from the lab, "we heard the alarms. Someone is trying to dock?"

"We weren't sure who it might be, so we came up here to see." Simmons finishes.

"Well then," Coulson says, "let's see who's trying to get on our plane."

The six of us stand, side by side, near the base of the spiral stairs, in the lounge area. Coulson and May are standing front and center. FitzSimmons is standing next to May, with me and Ward standing next to Coulson.

Footsteps can be heard on the steps and then a large group of men descend the stairs. Standing at the front of the group is a tall, middle aged man, with salt and pepper hair, and a suit. His arms are crossed in front of him. Behind him, are multiple other agents, all dressed in tactical gear, their weapons up and pointed at all of us.

"Who are you?" Coulson speaks up, "and what are you doing aboard my plane?"

The man at the front of the group takes a step towards Coulson, his men right behind him, "My name is Agent Donovan, Level 8. I'm here for the girl," his eyes fall directly on me.

Ward steps forward protectively in front of me, his hand hovering over the gun on his hip. "What do you want with her?"

"We know that she's an 0-8-4," Agent Donovan says, causing the teams eyes to go wide, "and we're bringing her in."

"You have no right to take her," Coulson says, "she is a part of our team and…"

"She's a liability." Donovan interrupts.

"She's a human being!" Coulson shouts, "And you are not going to take her anywhere to treat her like a lab rat!"

"We are taking her in, Agent Coulson." Donovan says firmly.

"Over our dead bodies," Coulson responds.

"So be it then. Boys," he says to the agents behind him, "kill them all except the girl."

"Ward! Skye!" Coulson shouts as he grabs both Ward and I by the arm and drags us past all of the men, and down the stairs to the cargo bay, "I need you two to get out of here. Ward, keep Skye safe."

"But sir…"

"No buts, Ward. Take a chute, get out of here. I don't care where you go, just get away."

"Coulson," I say, "what about the rest of you?"

"You're our top priority, Skye. They want you; we won't let them have you. Ward, go. Now."

Ward nods his head and pulls me towards the ramp of the cargo bay, as Coulson heads back up the stairs to fight the other men. Ward goes straight for the parachutes and picks one up, strapping it on quicker than I can even register.

"Come here," he says, waving me towards him. He hits the button to lower the cargo ramp.

"What?" I ask him, confused.

"Come here. We're gonna jump together."

"Where's my chute?"

"We don't have time for you to try and get one on. We need to go. Now." He grabs my hand and pulls me closer to the edge of the ramp.

"Ward," I say shakily, "I don't want to leave the rest of them behind. What if those men come after us?"

"Hey," he says, placing one hand on my face to keep my attention on him, "I'll keep you safe. I won't let them hurt you. Now, do you trust me?" I nod my head. "Good, now hang on," he tells me. I nod my head and wrap my arms tightly around him. The next thing I know, he's jumping out of the plane, and we're both plummeting down towards the earth. Instinctively, I wrap my legs around his waist, not wanting to risk falling without a chute attached to my body. I watch as the Bus gets further and further from my view; I can only imagine what is going on up there.

And then I see the orange fabric of the parachute expand above us, and our bodies are quickly jerked backwards. Then we slowly continue our descent down to the ground.

When we land, I detach myself from Ward's body and steady myself on my legs, taking a few deep breaths. "We need a car," Ward says, looking around. I follow his gaze, looking around as well. We seem to be just outside of a small town. "Something fast."

"Maybe we can find something there," I tell him, pointing towards the town just a little ways off.

"Worth a shot," he says, "come on." He holds his hand out to me and I take it, the both of us moving quickly towards the town.

When we get inside the town, we look around, trying to find a good enough one to at least get us far enough away. "There," I say, pointing at a car off to the side, "Will that one work?"

We walk over to it and Ward checks it over quickly, "Yeah. It will." He steps over to the drivers' side, "Damn it! It has one of those combination locks that opens the car." I see him raise his fist to break the window open, but I put my hand up to stop him.

"Wait! Don't break the window. That might alert someone that their car is being broken into. Just give me a minute and we'll be inside the car." I reach into my back pocket and pull out my phone, quickly opening it up and begin tapping away on it. I hack my way into the DMV database, looking for the specific code that unlocks this car. "Got it," I say finally, moving to the buttons. I quickly input the right code, and the car unlocks.

Ward sighs in relief and opens the drivers' side door, gesturing for me to climb inside. I crawl across the car to the passenger seat, sitting down and waiting as Ward climbs inside and then hotwires the car to get it started. He closes the door and hits the gas, peeling out onto the road.

"Where are we going?" I ask him as I settle into my seat.

"Anywhere we can," Ward responds, "put your seatbelt on."

I do as he says, deciding against shooting back with a witty remark. "Who were those guys back there? The ones on the Bus?"

"I don't know. SHIELD agents is my best guess. But going after you, and threatening the rest of the team, it doesn't make any sense. They must be working for someone else."

"How do they even know about me?" I ask, as Ward begins to pull onto the freeway. "As far as we know, only the team and Fury know about me being an 0-8-4."

"I don't know," he says, "if anything…"

Ward is cut off by the sound of gunfire. I turn around to look out the back window and see a big, black SUV following us onto the freeway. A man is hanging out of the passenger window, firing his gun at us.

"It's them!" I inform Ward.

"Get down!" he instructs, "Things are about to get crazy."

I duck down in my seat, and Ward turns the steering wheel accelerates the gas, trying to get us as far away as possible. The other car speeds up too, firing on us again. Ward swerves back and forth, trying to throw off their aim of the bullets, while also trying to avoid hitting any of the other cars that are driving on the freeway.

From my spot in my seat, ducked down, I lift my eyes and look through the side view mirror to see the man emerge from the passenger window again, this time with a bigger gun in his hand.

"Ward!" I say, "They have an even bigger gun now! But I don't think it's just an ordinary kind of gun."

Ward glances through the rearview mirror, his eyes going wide. "This isn't good," he says to himself. I keep looking out the side view mirror and then I see the guy disappear back into his car.

Seconds later, the car that we are in flips over, and over, and over, landing upside down in the middle of the road. I can hear cars all around us swerving and skidding on the road. I can also hear people shouting, but I can't understand what they are saying.

Everything is blurred for a while, as I try to look out in front of me. The windshield in front of me is completely shattered, nothing left, and I can see that there are a few shards of glass in my skin. The pieces are small, but still there nonetheless. I can feel a tightness against my upper body, and I look down to see my seatbelt pulled snug up against my body. It must have caused some bruises along where it lays, but it's better than what would have happened if I hadn't worn my seatbelt.  _Thank goodness Ward reminded me to put it on._ My eyes suddenly go wide.

 _Ward!_ I quickly look to my left to see Ward crumpled upside down in his seat, because he never put his seatbelt on; he's completely unconscious. There is blood trickling down from his hairline, and there are some shards of glass in his skin. Larger than the ones stuck in me. _No! No no no! This can't be happening._ I try to reach out to him, but I pull my arm back, due to the pain of the glass embedded in my skin. Then I see two pairs of feet approaching his side of the car. The two men bend down to check on him, and then as quick as they had bent down, they stand back up.

I keep my eyes on Ward, not wanting to take my eyes off of him, out of fear that something might happen. The next thing I know, I'm being cut loose from my seatbelt, grabbed by the waist and pulled from the car; kicking and screaming the entire way.

"Let me go!" I shout, trying to break free of the hold from the two men. "Let me go! Ward!" I scream, "Ward! Wake up and save me! Please! Grant! Please help me! Don't go! Wake up! Please!" I can feel the tears falling from my eyes.

I keep struggling, trying to break free.  _Just please let me go._ Suddenly, the grip from the two men loosens, and I turn to see them standing in front of me, a dazed look in their eyes.

"Did I really just do that?" I ask myself. I look around, trying to see if anyone else is around me. I turn back around to see one of the other men standing in front of me. He just smirks, and before I can say anything, I feel a strike to the back of my head, and everything goes black.


	4. Chapter 3

Opening my eyes, I quickly shut them again, due to the large, bright light shining right above me. I turn my head to the side and then wince from the pain shooting its way down my spine. I groan from the pain and then stop once it subsides. I try to lift my arms but I can't. I look down to see restraints on my arms, legs, and torso, holding me against the bed. I struggle again, trying to break free.

"Ah, you're awake." I hear a voice say.

Slowly opening my eyes, completely aware of the light now, I wait for my pupils to adjust to everything. In front of me, stands a tall man, with crisp gray hair, and a slight goatee. He's wearing a lab coat, a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, and has his hands clutched behind his back.

"Welcome," he says to me, with a slight nod of his head.

"Where am I?" I ask slowly and somewhat quietly.

"Now why would I tell you that?" he asks rhetorically. "No, you are not going to learn very much from me, however, I can tell you that I am going to learn quite a lot from you, about you."

"Oh really? And why do you think there is actually anything to learn about me?"

"Because I know what you are." He says, stepping closer to me.

"And what am I?" I respond, keeping my cool.

"You, my dear, are an 0-8-4. An object of unknown origin. At least, that's what SHIELD likes to call you."

"How do you know that?"

"I know a lot of things, my dear. Except for a few specific things. For example, why are you classified as an 0-8-4? Where are you from? How did you get to be the way you are?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid that I can't help you answer any of those questions."

"Maybe not right now, but that is why we are going to have a little bit of fun and see if maybe later, we'll get some answers."

"I wouldn't do anything too drastic." I tell him.

"And why is that?"

"Because of my team. By now they know that I'm gone and they'll stop at nothing to get me back. They'll take down every last one of you before you can even think about how to take them out."

"Is that so?" He sneers, "Well then. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

He steps over to a large machine that I don't recognize and pushes a few buttons. The bed I'm on tilts so that I'm at more of an angle. He grabs some wires with little pads on the ends and then sticks them all over my body. He sticks a few of them of my face, my arms, my legs, and then rips open my shirt, sticking a few on my chest.

"What are you doing?" I ask him, trying to squirm free from the wires being attached to my body.

"Just a little experiment," he says to me, and then walks back over to the machine. He presses a few more buttons and I feel a large wave of electricity run through my body. I scream out loud from the pain making its way through my body, my back arching against the bed. Once the excruciating pain subsides, I fall back against the bed, breathing heavily. A second later, more pain runs through my body, and I can't help but scream out again. When the pain goes away, I fall against the bed, and everything around me goes black once more.

* * *

*3 weeks later*

"We've been at this for weeks now," the man in front of me says, sounding irritated, "Just show me how your powers work," he exclaims, as he stands in front of the machine that sends electricity through my body whenever he wants.

"I said, I don't know," I reply through clenched teeth, trying to recover from the latest shock. "Now let me go." I try to move, but I can't. Sometimes I forget that I'm strapped down. The pain is so high, that nothing else really seems to register in my mind.

"Not a chance," the man sneers, "not until we get the information that we want."

"I told you when you first brought me here, I've told you a million times since then, and I'll tell you again until this is done, I don't know. I don't how I do what I do. It just sorta happens." I tell him shakily, trying to stay calm.

"Well we want to know how you are able to do that. Where did your powers come from?"

"I don't know. I was born with them. They're a part of me."

The man smiles, "You see, that's what I wanted to hear. It's a part of your DNA. That gives us something that we can work with."

"Are you going to let me go now?"

"Of course not. We're going to keep you here for a little bit longer. Run a few more tests. Test a few more theories."

"No! You have to let me go! I've already been here long enough!" I struggle against the restraints. "I'm not some test subject! I'm a human being!"

"No!" he shouts angrily at me, "You, are an 0-8-4. An object of unknown origin. We need to figure out how you can do what you do. We need to see what you can do."

"You wanna see what I can do?!" I close my eyes and take a deep breath, concentrating as hard as I can. I really hope that this works.  _Undo the restraints._ I think to myself, my eyes still closed.

After a moment, I hear the man scream in pain, but after a second, he stops. I open my eyes again and then watch as he stands up and walks towards the bed. He slowly undoes the restrains on my hands, and then my feet. I carefully slide off of the still tilted bed and stand in front of him, one hand resting on the bed to steady myself. All that electricity really took its toll on me. I spend a moment to remove any of the wires that didn't fall off when I stood up. That's when I really take notice of the little bruises lingering on my body, from where each little pad had been.

When I look back at the man in front of me, just standing there with no expression on his face, I realize what I have done to him. I back slowly away from him, breathing heavily.  _Now, you aren't going to follow me. And once I'm gone, you'll destroy everything you have on me and forget about me. Understand?_ I say in my head.

He nods his head.

"Good," I say, this time out loud. I back up towards the door and turn the handle, pushing the door open and bolting from the room, trying to locate the exit of the building.

Before I can get too far, a guard corners me. He has his gun up and pointed at me. I manage to use the maneuver that Ward taught me and get the gun out of his grasp, and I point it at him. He looks at me nervously, and then puts his hands up in the air. Instead of shooting him, I leap forward once more and knock him upside the head with the butt of his own gun. When he falls to the ground, I continue to make my way through the building, looking around for the exit.

As soon as I find the exit, I run as fast as my legs can carry me. I have to get out. I can't stay here. I have to go somewhere else. I have to go somewhere safe.

But there is no where safe enough for me to go. I just know it. Everyone will be in danger if I try to stay safe with them.

I have no one. I have no where safe to go. I have to run.

Standing just outside the place I have been held captive for the last three months, I look all around me, trying to find somewhere that is even the littlest bit safe for me to just duck down until I can figure out a plan. There is nowhere close enough that I can see, so I do the only thing I can do. Run.


	5. Chapter 4

*Present Day*

Hands clasped together tightly, we keep on running and don't look back, or stop, until I know that we are far enough away from that place. As we run, I keep a tight hold of his hand, never wanting to let go. I don't want to risk letting go of him until I know that we are safe. I have spent two years away from him and it was agony. It was absolutely horrible not having him there with me and I never want to go through that again.

Finally reaching our destination, underneath of an old bridge, we stop and I drop his hand, allowing him to take a moment to himself and catch his breath. I do the same for myself, leaning up against the underside of the bridge, breathing somewhat heavily. I may run a lot, but it's been a while since I've ran that fast.

When I finally catch my breath, I stand up straight and look at him, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you."

"How did you find me?"

He smiles at me, "You're not as clever as you think. I was able to track you whenever you did something on a computer."

"How did you know it was me? It could have been someone else."

"I know you, Skye. Which is why I recognized the codes and stuff that you were using and I was able to track where you were. Then I would ask around, flash your picture."

"Huh. Maybe robots have a better connection with technology than I thought."

"You know, after two years of not being called a robot, I'm kinda glad at hearing you call me that."

"Good. Because it's never gonna stop." He just smiles at me and I smile back. "But seriously," I say after a moment, "Why did you come and find me?"

"Because you need to come back."

I sigh, "I can't. Not with all of those people who are still after me. I keep thinking that I've stopped them all, but then I keep sensing another one coming after me. Nobody will stop until they have me and can experiment on me."

"But I won't let them hurt you." He tells me, stepping towards me.

"That's what you said the last time," I snap, glaring at him. He takes a step back, the look on his face dropping somewhat. "I'm sorry," I apologize, "I didn't mean to snap. I'm just really tired. I haven't slept in a couple days."

"What?" His eyes go wide. "Skye, you can't do that. You need to sleep. You'll burn yourself out if you don't."

"Well I've been doing just fine so far," I tell him. "So I really don't see what the big deal is."

"Look, I didn't come here to argue," he tells me. "I came to bring you back. We need you back, Skye. The team does."

"No." I say quickly, "I can't. If I go back there, they could get hurt."

"They're already hurt," he says sadly, "All of them."

My breath catches, "What? When? How?"

"It wasn't too long after you got taken from the car on the freeway. That man, Donovan, had them all beaten and tortured, trying to find out where you had been taken. It wasn't Donovan's men who took you, it was someone else. I guess it was someone Donovan was working with, but he decided to go rogue and do things his own way. I don't know his name, but I know he was bad. Luckily for me, Agent Hill wasn't too far from the crash site and when she recognized me, she had a team brought in to where I was and managed to get me out of there before things got too bad. She got me the treatment that I needed for my injuries and I recovered pretty well; my injuries weren't too bad. The rest of the team wasn't so lucky though. By the time we were able to find them, the damage had already been done."

"What happened?" I ask.

"They were all tortured," he says, ripping the band-aid straight off, no sugar-coating. "May has been confined to a wheelchair; both of her legs were broken in multiple places. She has a scar from a large gash from a kitchen knife in her side. She still has a few scars on her face from being punched so hard that the skin that broke never healed. The doctors don't know if she'll ever walk again. Physical therapy has been helping a little bit, but it could still be a while. And even then, she won't be able to fight like she used to.

"Coulson got a few broken ribs and a broken arm. He also had some major internal bleeding, but they managed to stop it and repair the damage that was done. He was shot a few times, so there were some holes that they had to patch up. He died twice on the operating table. He still has a few bruises covering his torso, and he says that it hurts for him to move around too much.

"Fitz has some brain damage from the torture. I think they did him in the worst, knew he wouldn't be able to hold up as well as Coulson and May would. I don't know exactly what they did to him, but all I know is that he never stopped screaming. The doctors don't think he'll ever be back to where he used to be with his IQ and everything. They don't know if he'll still be able to create new gadgets and things for the organization. Donovan's men did a lot of damage to him."

I swallow thickly, "And what about Simmons?"

"Simmons wasn't hurt physically. Hers was more emotional and psychological abuse rather than physical abuse. I think they hit her a couple of times, but you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at her. They made her watch as they tortured Fitz. Every time she tried to close her eyes and stop herself from watching him be hurt and hearing him scream, they'd force her to keep her eyes open. But they wouldn't let her near him. They made her watch as her best friend was tortured."

By now, I have tears running down my face. I never wanted any of that to happen, "That's horrible," I manage to say, "all of it. Why would they do that?"

"Because none of them would give up where you were."

"But they didn't know where I was.  _I_  didn't even know where I was."

"I know that. But Donovan and his men didn't know that. They thought that the team was hiding your location from them. Figured they could beat it out of them."

"That's awful."

"Yeah. But there's more."

"What?"

"Apparently, these are some of the same people, who uh, who kidnapped you when you were a baby."

"What?!"

"They knew how powerful you would become, more powerful than your parents, and they wanted to raise you to be their own weapon. But an agent with SHIELD managed to get to you before they could do anything."

"And a whole village in China was destroyed because they were trying to find me. Do you know who it was that, uh, you know."

His face falls and he gets a sour look on his face, "HYDRA."

My eyes go wide, "What? I almost became a pawn for HYDRA?"

"I know. Apparently they infiltrated SHIELD almost 70 years ago and have been waiting in the shadows for the right time to rise."

"How far did they infiltrate?"

"Deep. Some of the highest ranking SHIELD agents turned out to be HYDRA."

"Anyone that we know?"

"Sitwell, Blake, and Garret." He spits out the last name, like he's disgusted.

"Garret? As in your former S.O., Garret?"

He nods his head, "Yeah. Turns out he was the Clairvoyant all along."

"Wow. That mustn't have been easy for you to deal with when you found out."

"No. It wasn't. I've known the guy since I was a teenager. He was like a father to me. He trained me when I first got into SHIELD. And then I find out that he's been a part of this terrorist group and he's been lying to me all these years. I looked up to him for so long."

"Hey," I say, stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. He made his choice a long time ago I'm sure. You can't go back and change that."

"I know," he sighs, "I just feel so betrayed."

"I know you do. And I can't even begin to imagine how you must feel right now."

"Yeah, well, I'm just trying to move past it."

"I get it." I tell him and then step back, checking my gun. "So, how long has HYDRA been out of the shadows?"

"Just under two years. It wasn't too long after you were taken that we figured out who they really were. Most people in the world know now, it's not a huge secret anymore. How come you didn't know?"

"I've been on the run. Not really enough time to stay and gossip with people about the latest happenings."

"I guess that makes sense. But still, you had to have heard something."

"Well, I thought that I felt something odd coming off of some of the men I took down, like there was this deep, hidden secret almost, that they weren't saying aloud, but I never really figured out what it was. Now I guess I know." I let out a sigh. "Anyways, tell me what's been going on."

"We've been fighting. Those who are still loyal to SHIELD have been fighting to take them down. People are calling it World War III."

"How many are still loyal?"

"Besides the two of us, there's the rest of the team, all of the Avengers and their associates, Fury, Hand, Hill, and a handful of other agents. Even some of the Cadets have been recruited into helping fight. They're being trained on the go, I guess you could say. But I'm not sure what the exact count is though, of people fighting."

"That amount of people is good, I suppose. We still have a bunch of people who are willing to do whatever it takes to defeat HYDRA. But this all needs to end now. You need to get back, work with everyone to come up with a final battle plan, a really good one. I'll try to help you out in any way that I can without getting caught." I turn around and slowly begin walking towards the edge of the tunnel.

"Skye," I hear him say. I don't turn around. "What's happened to you these last two years?"

I look down at the ground, "I've survived." I say bluntly. "I've been running, and hiding, and surviving."

"It's time to stop. You don't have to run anymore," he says quietly to me. I turn around and look up to see him standing significantly closer than before. "I've been worried sick for the last two years, not knowing where you've been. I've been searching for you, trying to find you, so that I can tell you that we all still need you, Skye.  _I_ still need you."

He leans closer to me and I feel my breath catch in my throat, "What are you…"

He cuts me off by placing a finger gently on my lips, "I've missed you so much." He removes his finger from my lips and moves closer.

"I've missed you too," I admit out loud and to myself.

I close the small space between us, capturing his lips in mine in a hungry kiss. Two years of pent up feelings for one another is poured into that one kiss. I kiss him with everything I've got, placing my hands on his face to pull him closer.

Pulling back after a moment, due to the need for air, I rest my forehead against his, breathing heavily.

"Wow," I say breathlessly.

"Yeah," he replies, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now."

"Me too," I confess. I slide my hands up and wrap my arms around his neck, while he wraps his around my waist. "So," I say again, "where does this put us now?"

"Well, we could always see where this goes. You know, even though we're technically in the middle of a war, we could give us a go."

"Us. That's a pretty strong word."

"I know," he smiles, "but I'm completely serious. I'm willing to try if you are."

I think for a moment, and then smile. "Sounds like a plan," I say and then lean up to kiss him once more, this one more gentle and loving.

When we pull apart, he smiles at me, "Now then, this war plan, where do we start?"

"Honestly?" I say. "I don't really know. I usually just make things up as I go, hoping to not get caught and experimented on."

I can feel his grip tighten on me when I mention being experimented on. "I know where to start," he tells me, "We need to get back to everyone else. Let them know that you're okay. And once they do, we can fill you in on everything that has happened, and you can do the same. Then we can start coming up with a battle plan."

"If you're sure about this," I say worriedly. I've been on my own for the past two years, fighting on my own, surviving on my own, running on my own. It's going to be hard working with a team again.

"I'm positive," he tells me, grabbing my hand in his, "I'll be right with you the whole time."

I smile gently at him, "Alright then. Let's go."


	6. Chapter 5

Staying in the shadows and trying our best not to be spotted by anyone, Grant and I approach the old, run down warehouse. According to him, this is the place where everyone has been meeting up to discuss major things whenever they need to do so. There is food and water, ammo, medical supplies, and a few other basics. He says that even though there's quite a bit of everything, they have to ration out the food and water so that they don't run out too fast. They're trying to avoid going out into public to buy more supplies as much as possible.

Approaching the side of the building that sits in a dark alleyway, lit only by the lamppost right on the sidewalk in front of it, Grant looks around to make sure that no one is around. He moves his hand towards a keypad on the wall and then stops, looking down at me.

"I just realized something," he says. "The system won't recognize you. The others didn't have your information put in because they didn't think that you'd ever show up here." He looks at me sadly.

"It's okay," I say, squeezing his hand gently in mine. "Just do what you need to do. I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay," he says warily and then turns back to the door. He inputs the code into the keypad and waits. A second later, a scanner pops out from the wall and a faint light appears, scanning the two of us. It scans Ward first, making a soft click when it recognizes him. Then it moves on to me and I can see Ward tense up out of the corner of my eye.

I stare at the light, squinting. My fingers twitch slightly, barely even noticeable, as a little bit of electricity sparks out of the end of my fingertips. Then I hear the same soft click that I heard when the light recognized Ward. A second later, the door clicks open, and I step forward, pushing it open all the way. Ward and I step inside, and I close the door behind us again. I turn around to see him looking at me with something in his eyes.

"What?"

"What did you just do?" He asks me curiously.

I shrug my shoulders, "Just a little trick I figured out that I could do." 

"Well, whatever it was that you just did, it was very cool." He smiles gently.

"I know it was," I reply with a smile. He gently grabs my hips and pulls me towards him into a hug.

"Alright," he says when he pulls back, "let's go and tell the team that you're back."

I smile up at him as he grabs my hand tightly in his and pulls me off towards a staircase at the back of the warehouse.

* * *

"I don't know if I can do this," I whisper to Ward as we reach the top of the stairs and stand just outside the large room that is being used as a Command Center.

He turns to look at me, "What are you talking about?"

"Seeing everyone again. I don't know if I can do it. It's been two years since I last saw everyone. What if they all hate me?"

"Why on earth would they hate you?" He asks softly.

"I don't know," I reply.

He sighs, placing his hands gently on my upper arms, "Skye, you will be absolutely fine. I can guarantee you that everyone is going to be more than excited to see you alive and safe."

"If you say so," I tell him.

He smiles, "I do say so. Now, just hang back here for a second, okay?" I nod my head and he drops his hands, stepping through the door right next to us. "I'm back," I hear him say as he walks into the room. 

"Grant." I hear someone say with a sigh of relief. I think it might be Coulson.

"Agent Ward," a few other voices say. I can't pick out anyone in particular.

"Hi Grant!" I hear a super excited voice say, but I can't place who it is.

"How are you?" Someone asks him.

"Better than before," he replies.

"How was your trip?" I hear someone, I think it's May, ask. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did," he says back, and I can hear the smile in his voice. "Excuse me for a moment." I hear footsteps and then he appears in front of me. "You ready?"

I take a deep breath, "I guess so."

He smiles down at me, "Come on." He grabs my hand and pulls me into the room.

"Surprise." He says to everyone in the room. I look around the large room to see all of my old teammates, and then a group of people who look slightly familiar. They are all sitting around a large table with a bunch of different pieces of equipment surrounding them. Everyone in the room turns to look at us and the team's eyes all go wide.

The next thing I know, I'm being attacked by a blur of light brown hair; a pair of arms wrapping around me tightly in a hug. "Oh thank goodness you're okay." The very British voice says to me and I can hear the relief in the voice.

I pull back to see Jemma Simmons looking at me, a happy and relieved smile on her face, a few tears clearly building in her eyes. "Hey Jemma," I say back.

"We've all been so worried about you," she tells me.

"I know you have," I inform her, "Grant told me everything."

"Jemma?" A small voice says, "Who are talking to?"

"It's Skye," Jemma says to the person at the other end of the room.

Suddenly I'm being attacked by another hug. "Skye!" The voice exclaims. "Skye, you're back!" The person pulls away and I look to see Leo Fitz smiling wide at me. "Skye Skye Skye!" Fitz exclaims excitedly while looking directly at me. "Guess what? Jemma got me a monkey! I love monkeys. And now I have one! Well, it's not a real monkey, but it looks like one and moves like one and I love him a lot and..."

"Okay Leo," Jemma cuts in, "that's quite enough. Why don't you go back and play with Steve, yeah?"

"But I want Skye to play with me," Leo whines. "I haven't seen her in ages! Everyone said that she wasn't coming back. But she's here. And I want to play with her."

"She'll come and play with you later, okay?"

Leo huffs, "Fine." He turns around and walks back to where he was playing with Steve earlier.

"What..." I trail off, not really knowing how to phrase my question.

"You want to know what is wrong with Fitz." Jemma finishes for me. I nod my head. "His mind has regressed back to being a child. My best guess is that it's trying to cope with everything he was put through and this was the best thing it could do."

"So, how old is he?" I ask awkwardly.

"No older than 10, I think."

"Wow."

"I know. And I have to keep an eye on him all the time. He has a really hard time listening to anyone that isn't me. I think it's because of all the time that we spent together at the Academy and then on the Bus; his mind is remembering how attached we always were."

"Skye."

I turn my head to see Coulson walking towards me, slower than before. I smile at him, "A.C." I carefully wrap my arms around him in a hug.

"It's great to see you alive and well," he tells me when we pull back from our hug.

"It's great to see you  _alive,"_ I tell him, tears brimming my eyes. "I just wish that it wouldn't have to be in these kinds of circumstances."

"No one ever wishes for situations like these." I turn my head to see May coming my direction in an automated wheelchair. She looks weaker than I remember her.

"May," I manage to get out, feeling the few tears streaming down my face. "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry, to all of you. I never wanted any of you to have to go through what you did."

"It's not your fault, Skye," Grant says, placing one of his hands on my lower back.

"I know," I reply, "but it still feels like it. I get kidnapped and then all of you get tortured and beaten, and I just, I'm so sorry." I break down and collapse into Grant's arms, burying my face in his chest as I cry. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn my head to see Coulson looking at me.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he tells me. "Please don't blame yourself for what happened to all of us."

I wipe the tears from my eyes and look at my team, minus Fitz, and see all of them smiling at me.

"Okay. I'll try to stop. I'm just glad that you're all alive."

"So are we," May says with a slight laugh.

"Now then," Coulson speaks up. "Why don't I introduce you to some old friends of mine?" He smiles and then walks back to the large table at the other end of the room. "Skye, I'd like you to meet the Avengers; Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, and Thor Odinson. Also, Sharon Carter, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and you already know Tripp. Everyone, I'd like for you to meet Skye."

"Wow," I say, looking at the group of people in front of me. "It's nice to meet all of you." I move closer to the table.

"The pleasure is ours, Miss Skye," Thor says in his booming voice.

"Coulson has told us a lot about you, Skye," Natasha says, standing up from her chair and walking towards me. "Including some of your abilities. Though at the time, it seemed that he didn't know a whole lot about what you could actually do."

"Yeah," I say. "I sort of got kidnapped, and then escaped, before anyone could really figure out what I could do. But over time, I was able to find out what exactly I can do."

"That's great, Skye," Grant says to me with a smile.

"Does this mean that you also have control of them?" Jemma asks me.

"Yeah. I've learned how to control it all, and activate it, so to speak."

"What exactly  _can_ you do?" Clint asks as he moves to stand next to Natasha.

"Um, well, I'm not exactly sure what to call what I can do. But um, I can try and explain." I pause for a moment to think and then speak up again, "Okay. So I can't do a whole lot, but I can shoot this sort of electricity stuff out, and I've figured out how to channel it down to my hands, and from there, I can do one of a few things. I can stun people, I can control people, or if I'm not careful, I can kill them. Like if the shock is too much for their brain to handle. I learned that one the hard way." I pause for a moment, remembering that fatal accident. "I haven't used it that much though, because I figured it would draw too much attention towards me and that was definitely something that I did not want."

"Wow. Anything else?" Jemma asks me.

"Yeah, I can also 'talk' to technology. That's how I was able to bypass the security system outside. Made it think that it already had my information programmed in."

"So does this mean that you don't need to physically hack things anymore?" May asks me.

"I guess so. But I still like to do it the old fashioned way sometimes. I only do it the other way if it's absolutely necessary. And I can also sense things. I don't really know how to explain it, but I can kind of sense certain emotions from people. I can't really turn that one on or off, but thankfully it isn't super strong. That's how I always knew when someone else was chasing me. I could feel them coming after me."

"How long did it take you to figure out what you could do?" Steve asks me from his spot at the table where he is playing with Fitz.

"Not too long," I reply. "After I escaped from where I had been held, I did my best to stay hidden and eventually I was able to figure out what I was capable of. I managed to figure out how to trigger my abilities and how to use them. Once I knew I had good control of them, I began hunting down the people who were trying to hurt me."

"Why didn't you ever come and find any of us?" Tripp asks. "You had to have known that we would have helped you."

I look down sadly, "I didn't want to put any of you in danger. It was for the best."

"Let me make sure I heard you correctly. You've figured out how to control everything?" Tony asks me after a few moments of silence. "Because I think that I speak for everyone here when I say that we don't want any mishaps happening whenever you get upset."

"Oh please," I scoff with a roll of my eyes, "If anything happens to you, it's because I purposefully made it happen."

"Well then. I'll make sure to steer clear of you."

I just smile at him and then turn back to everyone else. "So. That's basically what I can do. Are you guys okay with that? You aren't going to throw me under a microscope to see how I work?"

"Why, why would we do that?" Bruce asks, stepping forward.

"Because that's what  _they_ did. So to speak."

"What did they do to you, Skye?" Grant asks me as he steps a bit closer. "You never told me."

"They uh, they, they tor--tortured me, trying to figure out how I could do what I do. It was awful. For days after I got away I kept having nightmares. I'd wake up in a cold sweat and I'd think that I was still there. Over the next few months the nightmares lessened, and I hardly get them anymore. Every once in a while one shows up, but not as much as in the beginning."

"I'm so sorry," Grant says as he pulls me into a side hug.

"It's fine," I tell him, "I've put it all behind me."

"Good for you, Skye," Coulson says to me. "We're glad that you're back. You're going to be a great asset to all of this that we're fighting for. Both with your abilities and as an amazing Agent."

"Thank you, A.C." I smile at him, "I'll do whatever I can to help take down Hydra."

"Good," he says back. "But first, we need a plan."

Pulling away from Grant and walking towards the table in the center of the room, I go to the head of it and turn to see everyone slowly making their way towards the table as well, all standing around it. "Grant told me a little bit about what has been happening so far, and I think that I have an idea. We need to attack Hydra at its core. We take down the central part of Hydra, we weaken the whole chain of command, make things easier when we take them down."

"How do we do that?" Jemma asks.

"Garret," Grant says, realizing where I'm going with this.

"Garret," I repeat. "Grant, you told me that Garret is the Clairvoyant. Therefore, he must be at the top of the chain of command. If we can take him out, then they guys who answer to him won't know what to do, everything will fall into complete and utter chaos. And then we can, hopefully, take down the rest of them. And maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to stop these psychos from coming back in another 70 years."


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the final chapter. Sorry for the long wait. :)  
> Enjoy!

"Michael," the older woman says happily to the young man entering her room.

"Hey Grandma," Michael smiles at his grandmother, bending down to press a kiss to her cheek.

"How are you doing, baby?" She asks him as he sits down in the chair next to her bed.

"I'm doing well. How are doing?"

She sighs, "I've had better days. I just wish that your grandfather was still here so I wouldn't be so bored every day."

Michael follows her gaze to look at the picture of his grandparents on their last wedding anniversary and then he grabs her hand in his own, "I know you do, Grandma, I do too. You were always so much happier when you were with him."

The older woman smiles somewhat sadly, remembering her late husband, "Yes, I suppose so." Things are quiet for a moment before she speaks up again. "Oh, I meant to ask you, how is that girlfriend of yours doing?"

Michael smiles brightly. "Jenny," he reminds his grandmother. "And she's doing great. Really great. We both are, actually."

"That's wonderful. I've always liked her."

"Me too," he smiles. "She's really great. I think I can really see a future with her."

"That's good, sweetheart. I'm glad. It's very important that when you find that one person you can see yourself with for the rest of your life, you stick with them and never let them go."

"Like you and Grandpa?" He questions.

She smiles at him, "Exactly. He never gave up on me and I never stopped believed in him."

"Well, I hope that Jenny and I are like you and Grandpa; together forever, no matter what happens."

"That's great. Keep holding onto that, and I'm sure that it will come true." She smiles at him and he smiles back. "So, what's new with you? How are your classes at the Academy going? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I'm enjoying myself and my classes are great. I'm actually doing my presentation tomorrow for my SHIELD History class."

"Are you nervous?"

Michael chuckles, "No Grandma, I'm not nervous. But are you sure you're fine with me doing this?"

"Yes," she nods her head. "It's been long enough. With your grandfather gone and my time coming soon, no doubt, I figure that it's time people know the truth."

"Okay then," he smiles, "I'll make sure to tell them everything that you told me."

"Thank you, Michael," she says, reaching for his hand, "I knew I could count on you to do this for me."

Michael smiles at his grandmother, "You're welcome, Grandma. I just hope that I do you justice."

"I'm sure you will," she smiles, "I have complete faith in you."

* * *

"Michael!"

Turning around at hearing his name, Michael sees his girlfriend, Jenny, making her way towards him across the campus. "Hey Jen," he smiles at her, placing a kiss to her cheek. "How are you?"

"Good. You?"

"I'm pretty good myself. I went and saw Grandma yesterday."

"Really?" Jenny. "That's great. How is she doing?"

"Not too good. She's getting a bit weaker. She said that she knows her time is coming soon. I even spoke to her doctors and they said she probably won't last much longer."

"I'm sorry," she tells him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, "I know how close you two always were."

"Yeah," he sighs. "But I can't really blame her for wanting to go. Without Grandpa she fells like she isn't really herself anymore."

Jenny smiles softly, "He always did bring out the best in her. And vice versa. You could always see the love between them. I always loved watching the two of them together."

"Me too. Oh, Grandma said to tell you hi."

Jenny smiles, "You know, sometimes I wish she was my grandma instead of yours."

"Well too bad," he smiles back. "Because I got the luck of the draw when it comes to grandmothers."

"Yes you did," she smiles. "Oh hey, you're doing your presentation this afternoon, right?"

"Yeah. I am. When I spoke with Grandma yesterday, she said that she was completely okay with me telling everybody, so I'm going forward with it."

"Wow. That's great. I know how much she kept that story under wraps. She was even wary when telling me, and she's known me basically my whole life."

"Yeah, well, after what she went through can you really blame her?"

"No. I guess not. But good luck with your presentation, baby. I know that you'll do her justice. Your Grandpa too, and all the rest of them."

"Thanks babe," he smiles at her and then gives her a quick kiss. "I have to go now, but I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Of course. I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

"And our next presentation is by Michael," the teacher says from the front of the room. "Michael?"

Taking a deep breath, Michael stands up from his seat in the back of the room, making his way to the front of the lecture hall. He inserts his flash drive into the side of the wooden podium and waits for a quick moment as his presentation loads onto the large screen in front of his fellow cadets. "Hello," he says as he turns around to face the rest of the classroom. "Today I am going to be doing my presentation on a very mysterious figure, Electra."

He presses a button on his remote clicker and the screen changes to show a blurred image of a woman, her face not able to be recognized. "There are many different theories surrounding this unique individual. The only universal truth that anyone really knows, is that Electra is a woman.

"Legend says that this remarkable woman was once an Agent of SHIELD, like all of us are training to become, until she discovered that she had some supernatural abilities, went berserk, and ran off. Many people are skeptical about, but no one has the full story.

"Except for me. Why is why, right now, I am going to set the record straight about Electra.

"One other thing that everyone knows is that Electra did not work alone. In many of the images and videos caught of this mysterious woman, a second figure can be seen with her." He presses a button, causing the screen to change. It shows the same woman from before, her face completely hidden. Near her, is a tall man with black hair, his face partially hidden from view of the camera.

"There has been a lot of speculation about who this man could be. Some people say that he's a man she met while traveling. Others, mainly those in SHIELD, believe him to be this man," he clicks the button and a photograph appears. "Agent Grant Ward, of SHIELD. This is also true.

"Many years ago, Agent Ward began fighting alongside Electra, not too long after the end of World War III.

"But before I get too much into that, I think that I should start from the beginning. And when I say the beginning, I mean this woman," he clicks the button and the screen changes to show a picture of a young, brunette woman, smiling at the screen, "Skye." There are a few murmurs within the group, but Michael ignores them and continues.

"Skye was just a baby when she was left on the doorstep of Saint Agnes Orphanage, without a single clue left as to who she belonged to or where she was from. Skye grew up in the system, being shifted around every few months, giving her the idea that no one wanted her, or that she wasn't good enough for a family.

"When she was 16, Skye became determined to find out the truth about who her parents really were, so she ran away from the orphanage, procured a van," the image switches to one of a teenage Skye standing in front of a beat up old van, "and then began to try and make it on her own in the world.

"Not too long after she ran off, she came across the radar of a particular group, The Rising Tide, an old group of 'hacktivists' as she liked to call them." Michael smiles.

"Skye came across their radar, because she was a hacker, and they were intrigued by her. The Rising Tide offered her a spot within their group and she took it, realizing that she and The Rising Tide both shared the same beliefs about the accessibility of information, and how it shouldn't be kept from the public. She joined and soon became one of their best hackers.

"During her time with The Rising Tide, Skye spent her time continuing to live out of her van, while also using her computer skills to continue her search for her parents. However, the one things she did not expect to find during her search was this," the image changes to a shot of a redacted SHIELD file. "The only document that could have been even a little bit close to revealing anything about her life, and most of it had been redacted. By SHIELD." There are more whispers and murmurs within the crowd, but Michael keeps talking.

"It was at that moment in her life that Skye discovered what she needed to do; hack into SHIELD and search for the unredacted file. And so that's what she did. She kept an eye on SHIELD, keeping them close. But she always made sure that they wouldn't catch her in their system.

"And then, not too long after the Battle of New York, SHIELD found her. I won't get too much into that story, because it isn't very relevant, but what I will tell you is that it had to do with this man," the image changes again to show a tall, African-America man, "Mike Peterson."

"A special response team, put together by then-Director, Nick Fury, flew out to L.A. and picked her up from her van. Two of the men threw a bag over her head and hauled her off to their secret base, according to Skye." He smiles again.

"This is that secret base," the image switches to an overhead shot of the Bus. "It's called the Bus, even though it's clearly a plane. The two men dragged Skye onto the Bus and began to interrogate her, wanting to know what she knew about Mike. Skye helped them with their mission to stop Mike from losing control and hurting those around him, and after wards, Agent Phil Coulson," the picture switches to one of Coulson, smiling right up to his eyes, "gave her the opportunity to be a consultant with the team. And she took it.

"From them on, Skye stayed on as a consultant with the team, helping them find information using her skills and, occasionally, going out into the field as time went. But she didn't forget about her pursuit for information about her parents, even enlisting some of the members of her team to help her out. And despite a couple of hiccups along the way, this team because one of the best known teams throughout SHIELD." The picture switches to a shot of the entire team, all together and smiling.

"But then things changed for Skye. After an incident at the old SHIELD Sci-Tech Academy, Agent Coulson told Skye what she wanted to know, but was actually very hard for her to hear.

"Skye was an 0-8-4. She was a baby that was found in China 24 years prior," the image switches to a map of Chine, a certain section highlighted. Michael points to it, "She was found here, in the Hunan Province. She was told that an entire village, as well as a large number of SHIELD Agents, had died trying to protect her from the people who were trying to hurt her.

"It was then that she realized that SHIELD had always been a part of her life, from the time she was just an innocent child who didn't know what was even happening. It was SHIELD who had taken her to that orphanage, and SHIELD who had ordered her to be moved around periodically, so that she would not be found by those who were out to get her.

"Right after all of this was revealed, she began working as hard as she could to prove that she really did deserve to be there at SHIELD, and that she wouldn't let the deaths of those agents be in vain." The image switches again to a few different shots of Skye training on the Bus, working hard.

"Not long after that, after taking multiple tests, Skye was granted Agent status, at Level 1," the screen switches to show a slightly grainy picture of Skye's first ever SHIELD badge. "The entire team celebrated, congratulating Skye on her achievement." The screen changes to a few different pictures all taken on the day that Skye received her badge.

"But that joy that she felt from finally receiving her badge, and becoming an official SHIELD Agent, was very short lived. The very same day that she got her badge, the team was called away on a mission. Skye was excited to finally be going on her first mission as a SHIELD Agent, but that excitement quickly died down once actually on the mission.

"Skye went into a warehouse, along with one of her fellow teammates, Agent Grant Ward," the screen changes to a picture of Grant, smiling slightly. "Grant was meant to be the lookout for Skye while she hacked into the servers and retrieved crucial information that was needed.

"Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when Grant was attacked by some men who were there to also get the information. Thy managed to take the men down, and escape, but Grant was injured in the process," the image changes to one of Grant sitting on the couch in the lounge room, his broken knee elevated up on the table in front of him. 

"When they had gotten back to the Bus, and started explaining everything that had happened, it was then that Skye realized why she had been classified as an 0-8-4 in China. She had abilities. Supernatural abilities.

"After this realization, Skye began working closely with Bio-chem specialist, and fellow teammate, Agent Jemma Simmons," the image changes to picture of Jemma in the lab working, "and they began to work to try and figure out what exactly Skye was capable of.

"6 months later and they had still barely made any progress. They tried everything they could think of, but nothing worked.

"That's when some men showed up, mid flight. The Bus was in the air, flying, when some men docked without authorization and boarded the plane.

"Agent Coulson asked the men why they were there, because he wanted to know why these random men, men he had never seen before, who claimed to be SHIELD Agents, just showed up without permission to board his plane. The front man of the other group, Donovan, said that they were there for one thing, and one thing only. Skye. They had somehow found out that she was an 0-8-4, and wanted to take her in. But her team wouldn't allow it.

"Coulson took Skye and Grant aside and told them to run. He told them to run as fast and as far as they could. So that's what they did." The image switches to a plain grey screen as he continues, "They jumped out of the plane using a parachute and landed near a small town. They found a car and Skye hacked into the DMV database to get the code to unlock the car, allowing the two of them to get in and drive away. At least, that was the plan.

"Because once they left the small town and got onto the freeway, they then realized that they were being tailed by a black SUV. There was a lot of gunfire coming from the SUV, until the car that Grant and Skye were in flipped over.

"Their car flipped over multiple times, until it finally landed upside down in the middle of the freeway." He clicks a button and the screen changes, showing the paused beginning of a small video clip. "This video was taken by someone's cell phone who had pulled over to get out of the way of what was happening," he hits play and the video begins.

The video starts out, showing a car already halfway to the camera, getting closer by the second. In the background, people can be heard talking, and cars screeching to get out of the way. A second later, when the car is almost in full view of the camera, it flips, the back end flipping over the front end. The video is somewhat shaky as the person filming it runs to where the car is now lying on its top. The next thing that can be seen is four men, dressed all in black, stepping out of the large, black SUV, and approaching the other car. The video zooms in to show two of them approaching what looks to be the passenger side of the car, reaching in and pulling a person out of the vehicle. It's hard to see who the person is from the shaky video, but two men are holding the person, while that person struggles to try and break free. The person manages to break free somehow and then all of a sudden, they are struck across the back of the head by something, and then dragged off to the SUV. The four men shove the person into the car, and then climb in themselves, driving off, not caring about the other person still in the car. The video shakes and then cuts out, the screen going to black.

Michael steps back up to the podium and continues to speak, "The person that was taken form the vehicle was Skye, while Grant was left behind, cut up, bruised, and bleeding. Luckily for him, he was found a short while later by Deputy Director Maria Hill," he hits a button and the screen changes to show a picture of Maria. "He was taken to get the help he needed.

"However, Skye was not as lucky. The men that kidnapped her took her to a place, an unknown place, out in the middle of nowhere. She was held there for weeks. She was tortured. Every day for weeks on end, almost every waking moment, she was tortured. Mainly by this device here," he clicks a button and the screen changes to show a sketch of the machine that was used to torture Skye. "This machine was hooked up to a few different parts of Skye's body and when turned on, it would send an electrical shock throughout her entire body. The pain was excruciating. But Skye never talked. She couldn't. The man who tortured her, he wanted information on her abilities. What she could do, how she could do it, why she could do it. But Skye herself didn't even really know the answers those questions.

"Eventually she escaped. By some miracle, she was able to activate her abilities and made the man who was torturing her set her free. She made him forget who she was, and then she ran out of there as fast as she could, searching for an exit. She took out a guard while she was on her way, and soon enough, she found the exit to the building.

"And when she got out of the building, all she saw was dirt, desert, and dust. She couldn't see anything for miles. So she did the only thing she could do. She started running. She didn't know where she was running to, all she knew was that she needed to get as far away from there as she possibly could.

"She ran for days, until she finally found a small town where she could hide away for a while and recover from what happened to her while in that building. But while she recovered, she barely slept, not because she didn't want to sleep, but because she couldn't sleep. Her mind wasn't letting her get the rest that she needed to recover. Instead, she'd wake up in the middle of the night, completely shaken from memories of what happened to her.

"Over time, she learned to deal with her nightmares, and they showed up less and less. She also figured out what she could do; which she then spent as much time as she could figuring out how to trigger her abilities.

"After she had escaped, she spent the next two years running; running and hiding and surviving. She completely wiped every trace of the fact that she ever existed, using a computer in a coffee shop somewhere. And then, she kept running.

"She used every bit of training she had, everything that she had learned from SHIELD, to survive, and take down the people who were after her. And at the time, she didn't really care who she hurt in the process. All she knew was that she needed to stay alive." Michael pauses in his talking, looking out at the crowd to gauge where they are at in regards to his presentation. Seeing that everyone is still paying attention very intently, he decides to continue.

"So, two years after she escaped, Skye found her way to a somewhat abandoned warehouse, where she had believed some men were hiding out that were going to try and kill her. When she arrived there, she made her way into the warehouse barefoot, because according to her it made things easier. She got into the main part of the warehouse and took out two of the three guys in there, the last one getting away.

"She didn't want to sit around and wait for him to try and get her, and the warehouse was too big, so she decided to run again. She slowly made her way back out the same way she came in, and made her way towards the exit.

"When she reached the entrance of the warehouse, that's when she saw him. He was standing in the doorway, and as she put it, 'the sunset behind him illuminated his figure, making him look even more handsome than I remember'. That man was Grant Ward.

"Once she realized who he was, she grabbed his hand in hers and the two of them ran off. She took the lead, guiding him away from the warehouse and towards the underside of an old bridge nearby. Skye confronted Grant about why he was there, and how he found out where she was. He told her that he never stopped looking for her. He told her everything that happened to him since they got separated on that freeway two years prior.

"It was under that bridge that Grant revealed to her something that happened, something she didn't know about. Hydra had resurfaced. Many of us know the story about Hydra; a group back in the 1940's, led by the Red Skull, taken down by Captain America. Or so everyone thought. Hydra had secretly been growing within SHIELD for 70 years, waiting for the right time to strike.

"So, Skye filled Grant in on how she had been surviving for the last two years and he begged her to go with him to where the rest of the team was. She was hesitant at first, not wanting to put her friends in danger, but he told her that it didn't matter. They were already damaged. 

"According to Grant, the rest of the team had been captured and tortured. The people doing it were trying to get information from them; information on where Skye was. But they wouldn't give the information away, because they didn't know where Skye was.

"It was under that bridge where, after a long discussion, Skye made the decision to go back with him and return to their team. It was also at that time, that Skye and Grant gave in to their feelings for one another, sharing their first kiss.

"And so, Grant took Skye with him to an old, run down warehouse, where everyone who was still loyal to SHIELD, and willing to help out, was meeting up. They went in, and Skye was reunited with all of her old friends, as well as getting to meet The Avengers and some of their associates.

"She told them about her abilities, and that she had learned how to control them. Skye's abilities were as follows; she could shoot a sort of electric current from her body and either stun someone, control them, or kill them. She was also able to control technology, or 'talk' to it, as she liked to say, without physically touching it. She could also sense certain emotions from certain people. She wouldn't sense things from everyone, and luckily it wasn't overpowering.

"Once everyone was caught up on everything, they began forming a plan to take out this man," the screen changes to show a picture, "John Garret, and from there they hoped to be able to take out as many of the remaining Hydra operatives as they could to weaken the entire organization. So they talked, they planned, they strategized, and then they began the biggest mission of their lives.

"It took them many long months to finally take down enough of Hydra to really damage them. They incarcerated most of them, a few of them vowed they would change and were given the chance to do so, seeing as they were mainly the younger recruits who only did it because their family was a part of it. And some of them died. Killing them was the last option. And even then, they did it quick and painlessly.

"Once they had successfully taken down a significant number of Hydra operatives, they began slowly building SHIELD back up from the bottom. They started small and slowly grew it bigger and bigger, carefully choosing the people they wanted as agents.

"With the rebirth of SHIELD, everyone gained new rules in the organization. Agent Coulson became the Director, with Agent Melinda May as his Deputy Director, but she would also help in different aspects of training new recruits to SHIELD. Luckily, Agent Leo Fitz recovered from his very traumatic experience and slowly got back to who he was, though there was a slight change in his demeanor. He and Jemma Simmons took on a much larger role in the science and technology division; they would sometimes teach extra classes at the Academy for those who wanted to delve deeper into different topics. They were also Director Coulson's go-to pair for any new science stuff that he didn't quite understand.

"As for Skye and Grant, well, their story is a bit more interesting. When SHIELD was rebuilt, Grant stayed on as a Specialist, and he also helped in training the new recruits in his spare time. And Skye, well, she joined back on with SHIELD and regained her Agent status, even moving up a few notches in the ranking. However, she didn't use her abilities as often as one might think. The only time she ever used them, was when she was out in the field, and only when it was absolutely necessary. She didn't want anyone who saw her use her abilities to know who she really was. She also became the head of the Computer Science division, assisting in classes here and there, as well as missions. She and Grant went on many missions together, because when they were together, they worked flawlessly.

"One other, very important, aspect of Skye and Grant's life that should be know, is that they did what not many other SHIELD Agents did. They had a family.

"After a year and a half together, Grant proposed to Skye underneath of that very same bridge where they first gave in to their feelings," he clicks a button that makes the screen change to show a picture of Skye and Grant underneath of the bridge, Grant down on one knee.

"Six months, and a couple of near death experiences later, they were married," the picture switches to a photo of Grant and Skye on their wedding day, looking at each other lovingly, ignoring the camera. "Those who were there say it was a beautiful ceremony, and that the couple was more in love than anyone they had ever known before.

"Throughout the following years, Skye gave birth to three children; a daughter, a son, and then another daughter," the screen changes, showing three different pictures, each one on the day each child was born. "Each of those children had their own children, making Skye and Grant grandparents. The two oldest grandchildren each had a child of their own, making Skye and Grant great-grandparents.

"You might be wondering if the children carried on Skye's abilities and that answer is, not all of them. Seeing as how Grant was not like Skye, only the girls in their family carried Skye's abilities. And even then, they weren't as powerful, because they weren't full, like Skye was. But that didn't matter to them. Because as they grew older, Skye and Grant's children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren continued on the SHIELD legacy.

"Many of the people who knew Grant and Skye, will say that they had a very special type of bond, and I can confirm that this is true. I've seen it with my own eyes. It's a bond unlike any other. They were so much in love, they made each other better, and they were the happiest when they were with one another. And they always said that if one of them died before the other, the other probably wouldn't last longer than a year without them.

"Well, as it so happens, one year ago today, Grant Ward passed away in his sleep," the screen changes to show a picture of Skye standing at Grant's gravesite, mourning the loss of her true love. "And just like they always said, Skye didn't last past a year without her other half. Because earlier today, on the anniversary of her husband's death, Skye too, passed away in her sleep, a picture of her love tucked in her arms." He pauses to wipe away a single tear that had fallen from his eye.

"All her life, Skye never felt like she belonged anywhere, she was always trying to find out who her family was, where she came from, who she really was. It wasn't until she found her SHIELD team, and more importantly, Grant Ward, that she realized something. It didn't matter what her origins were, because she finally found something that she had always wanted, and longed for. A family.

"Now, everyone is probably wondering how I know that all of this is true, and what my credible sources were for this. Well, I only had one source, the only source that I really needed. Someone who was there when all of this happened. Skye Ward. Though I know her by another name," he clicks a button and the screen changes to show its final picture. A picture of Michael and an older looking version of Skye. "Grandma. And if there's one thing I know right now, it's that she may have spent all her life running, but today, she no longer has to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who has read this story and left reviews/kudos. It means a lot. Thanks so much. 
> 
> Until next time,  
> Jellybean96 out! :)


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